Mouthpiece Warm Up

Practice Notes
1) Hold the mouthpiece with the thumb and first two fingers of your left hand a quarter of an inch from the small end, to minimize pressure. Keep your hand relaxed and grip the mouthpiece lightly. 2) Play these studies with a piano or tuner. Make sure that your pitch is accurate. 3) Take a big breath for each exercise. Make sure that your breathing is full and relaxed. Inhale on the syllable “HOE” which will drop your jaw and reduce throat resistance. 4) Buzz at a full dynamic, try to get as full and centered a sound on the mouthpiece as you can. Minimize any shake or waver in the sound by concentrating on keeping the corners of you lips firm and down. 5) Move smoothly from pitch to pitch. Do not “jab” at the notes. Buzz freely; do not worry about keeping a strict or steady tempo. 6) As you move into the lower register pivot the mouthpiece slightly up (at the small end) so that you can move your jaw forward and get more lower lip into the mouthpiece. Lead with your lower lip. 7) As you ascend into the upper register you will need to use more mouthpiece pressure, but try to keep this to a minimum. 8) After you have finished the mouthpiece warm up rest for five or ten minutes before picking up the trumpet.